Telescopic door



Sept. 2, 1958 c. w. BURKE TELESCOPIC DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet? Filed May 21.1954' JNVENTOR. CHARLES w. BURKE ATT'Y.

2,850,089 TELESCOPIC noon Charles W. Burke, Dayton, Ohio Application May21, 1954, Serial No. 431,522

1 Claim. (Cl. 160202) I The present invention relates to, a new anduseful im- 'provement in shower stall installations, and moreparticularly to a sectional telescopic shower door assembly suitable forinstallation in combination-withatub or in a shower stall.

It is an object of the present inventionto provide a slid- Furtherobjects or the invention and novel features of the;invention=wil-lbe-apparent 'nsm the' following specification and claimsand in the accompanying drawings.

in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation taken in front of or facing a tub andshower door assembly of the invention.

Figure 2 is a somewhat enlarged vertical transverse cross-sectional viewtaken along lines 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a somewhat enlarged horizontal cross-sectional view takenalong lines 3--3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a horizontal view corresponding to Figure 3 but with thedoor panels in open position.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical transverse cross section taken alonglines 2--2 of Figure 1 illustrating the manner in which the panelsections are slidably positioned and the track structure.

Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal view partly in cross sectionillustrating the position of one .of the panels of the sectional slidingdoor member.

Figure 7 is a horizontal view partly in cross section illustrating amodified form of the invention incorporated in a stall shower.

Referring to the drawings in detail wherein like reference charactersdenote like parts, Figures '1 and 2 show a tub 10 enclosed in a recessdefined by side wall portions 11 and 12, rear wall portion 14 andceiling 13. The tiled portion of wall 14 is shown at 15. Across the topof the recess positioned directly above the outer edge of the tub ispositioned a track supporting member 16 in the form of an invertedU-channel. This channel member is fastened to the ceiling between theside walls of the recess by any suitable means, as by screws or thelike. Within channel 16 are positioned a plurality of track memberswhich support sliding sectional panels 20, 21, 22 and 23 which panelsare slid to open or closed position by means of handle 28. The bottomedges of these panels are guided by guide tracks formed in anotherU-channel member 17 positioned on the top outer edge portion of the tubbelow and opposite the upper channel 16. Vertical channel members 18 and19 are provided at the walls of the recess and serve to receive theouter edges of the outermost panels at each side of the door. Thesevertical channels extend between members 16 and 17. The panels engageeach other through edge members 24, 25 and 26 which are described ingreater detail in Figure 3.

United States Patent 0 T Figure 3 illustrates a horizontal cross sectionin which the relationshipof the vertical channels and the sections isillustrated in closed position. As shown, vertical channels 18 and 19are positioned at each side of the recess between the upper and lowerchannels in which'the section panels are guided. Each panel is formedwith its vertical edges having outwardly projecting longitudinal flangedportions. These may be in the form of integrally shaped or moldedportions, or preferablyin the form of preformed strips as shown at- 24and 24a on panel 20,25 and 25a on' panel 21, 26 and 26a on panel 22, and27 and 27a on panel 23. These edge members permit interlockingengagement of the respective panels so that by pulling horizontally onhandle 28 and sliding-the first panel in one direction the leading edgein that direction will engage a correspondingedge projection on theadjacentpanel and so on. In closing, .the satne thingwill occur. Forexample, the edgemember onpanel 20 will engage edge member 25 onpanel21, with continuation of the horizontal'sliding movement of panels20 'and '21 edge member 25 will engage member 26 on panel 22, and

when the door isfully open all of :thepanels will be lined up adjacentand Figure 4. J

In closing, the door handle 28 and panel 20. are slid horizontally tothe closed position. In do in g so edge memberf24 engages member 25a"onpanel 21,.member 25 intrirnenga'ges memberv 26a on panel 21; The fullyclosedposition is illustrated in Figure 3. Another advantage of thearrangement shown in Figure 3 is that the spray head of the shower 29 ispositioned so that'the shower spray will flow in a direction away fromthe junction of the respective edge members to minimize leakage. Inopening the door from the inside handle 28a may be utilized. t

The structure of the upper and lower horizontal channel members and therespective track and guiding mem bers is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.The tracks are formed of depending right angular members 31, 32, 33 and34 welded or otherwise-fastened to the bottom of channel 16 with thehorizontal legs thereby forming tracks. Slidable members 39, 40, 41 and42 are attached to the respective door panels adjacent the top edges ofeach.. Preferably, these slidable members are in the form of stripsbolted or riveted to the panels, but may be formed integrally therewith.The bottom surfaces of these strips bear against and are in slidingengagement with the upper surfaces of the horizontal tracks, as shown.The door panels 20, 21, Hand 23 are attached to these strips and dependtherefrom being thereby slidably supparallel to. end panel 23 as shownin ported by the tracks. The bottom channel member 17, which is attachedto the outer top edge of the tub, as

shown in Figure 2, or at the base ofa shower stall if desired, isprovided with guiding channels "or grooves within which the bottom edgesof thepanels are positioned and guided as shown at the bottom of Figure5. One preferred manner of providing these channels is by the use ofspacers 35, 36, 37 and 38 in the form of elongated right angled membersas shown, although any other desirable type of spacing members may beprovided. These spacers serve to hold the panels in a vertical linewhilethey are being moved horizontally to open and close the door. Thevertical channel 19 at one end is also shown in Figure 6, as well asbottom horizontal channel member 17. Since the bottom channel willtendto collect water, openings 43 are provided along its base opening towardthe tub to permit drainage.

In Figure 7 is illustrated a modified form of the invention incombination with a stall shower. In this arrangement the walls of thestall are shown at 44, 44a and 44b. The opening to the stall is definedby posts 45 and 46. The panels of the sliding door are 47,48,

Patented Sept. 2, 1958 49 and 50. Handles 51 and 5'2. are providedforsliding the panels in either direction from either side. Edge members53, 53a, 54, 54a, 55, 55a, 56 and 56a are provided to provide theinterlocking arrangement similar to that shown in Figures 3 and 4.Although not shown, the panels slidein tracks supported in a channel,"and are guided by a bottom channehsimilar tothe 'membersil-i lustratedin Figure 5. l i r I Any suitable materials of construction may beutilized for fabricating the products of :nis'invention; 'T he doorpanels may be of glass, metal or plastic. Preferably, the panels areconstructed of translucent plastic material such as polyester resinreinforced with glass fibers. The channel and track members may be ofmetal or plastic, but are preferably of aluminum Monel metal orstainless or plated steel. The edge engaging members are also preferablyof similar metals. The sliding members which engage the tracksandsupport the panels may be of plastic, metal, or other suitablematerial. In place of the slidable strip, wheels may be used.

This invention is susceptible to various changes in form, proportions orconstruction, all of which fall within the scope ofthe invention asdefined by the appended claim.

I claim:

A sectional shower bath door comprising a plurality of parallel, spaced,horizontally supported overhead track members, a plurality of verticallydepending separate shower door panels including an outermost panel, atleast one intermediate panel, and an innermost panel, each slidablysupported upon one of said overhead track members, a plurality ofhorizontally positioned spaced grooved members positioned across thebottom of the shower opening and directly beneath the overhead trackmembers, the bottom edge portions of each door panel being slidablypositioned within and engaging one of said spaced grooved members, *saidoutermost door panel having an inwardly turned edge portion coextensivewith and extending along each vertical edge thereof, each saidintermediate door panel having an edge portion which is both inwardlyand outwardly turned coextensive with and extending along each verticaledge thereof, said innermost panel having outwardly turned edge portionsco- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,197,385 Rickcn Apr. 16, 1940 2,331,822 Zechiel et a1 Oct. 12, 19432,374,490 Lehman Apr. 24, 1945 2,466,913 Rogers Apr. 12, 1949 2,602,504Roos July 8, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 396,839 Great Britain Aug. 17, 1933

